MOHAN TO MANMOHAN- A movie review of

“Swades” based on management concepts:

INTRODUCTION

“Manmohan” in hindi means everyone’s favorite. Here I am going to put up a review of the film

Swades based on the management concepts. Mohan to Manmohan here refers to two interpretations:-

1. How a person can be a transformational leader. I e How an ordinary person can become

extraordinary.

2. By giving this title I also meant that Swades is a question raised to all the citizens of our country

including our Prime minister about “What is India and What it can be”

The film also opens with the following quotation from Gandhi:
 Hesitating to act because the whole vision might not be achieved, or because others
“ do not yet share it, is an attitude that only hinders progress. ”

Set in modern day India, Swades is a film that tackles the issues that development throws up on a

grass root level. It is to this India, which is colorful, heterogeneous and complex that Mohan Bhargava

(Shah Rukh Khan), a bright young scientist working as a project manager in NASA, returns to on a quest

to find his childhood nanny. The story revolves around 3 main characters Mohan, Kaveri Amma, Gita

and hundreds of innocent villagers of Charanpur. The film uses the contrast between the highly

developed world of NASA, which has been at the forefront of advances in space research, and this world

back home in India, which is at the crossroads of development. Mohan's simple quest becomes the

journey that every one of us goes through in search of that metaphysical and elusive place called

"home".

MANAGEMENT LESSONS:-

1. First lesson which struck me is from the title of the movie Swades We, the People. Swades

shows how teamwork pays, especially in the scenes where Mohan and the villagers work

together to bring in electricity in Charanpur. The title envisions the emerging conceptsof HR i.e

from “I to we concept”.

2. Mohan portrays a true leader in Swades. We have instances of Mohan’s leadership in which

certain inevitable qualities of a leader like:

  Knowledge

 Perseverance

 Patience

 Initiative

 Negotiation skills

 Motivational Skill

 Empathy

 Ready to take responsibility attitude

According to me Mohan represents a true transformational leader who changes the destiny of a

small village and leaves a question in everyone’s mind “Can I be a leader who can uproot the problems

of India and make it shine?”

Gita also has shown certain leadership qualities in this film. She has taken the initiative to be in

Charanpur with a mission of empowering the village with a “try until you succeed attitude”.

3. RESISTANCE TO CHANGE AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT:

Another management lesson which we can see in Swades is the concept of Change

management. Initially the attitudes of the villagers were orthodox. They did not send

girls to schools children after 5th standard. It was because of financial disability and

distance. But Mohan, Gita and a few villagers changed their attitude. They convinced

them about the benefits of sending all their children to school and made them

understand the importance of education. Thus a resistance to change was transformed

into a positive change. Indian government also learned some lessons and made the

education up to 10th standard fee of cost.

 Another instance of change management is the “electricity generation” in a village

which lived in darkness for decades.

4. Kaveri Amma- The real HR strategist. Kaveri Amma, Mohan’s Nanny had a clear cut idea of how

to solve her dilemma. She understood both Gita and Mohan and made them encounter “right

situations” so that they all reach a consensus of remaning in India. Similar to Kaveri Amma, all

the managers needs to be strategists. They should know their people, place them rightly to get

the glimpses of success.

5. OTHER LESSONS:

 Focus on goal.

 Change in Perception

 Importance of “Indianisation” of corporate goals, activities etc.

CONCLUSION:

Swades is a movie which depicts the typical trend of Indian youth. “Learn from India and

leave India to earn”- This is the attitude of most of the young Indians. Management lessons learned

should be applied in all Indian minds to bring in a change in attitude in them. We need to be more

responsible and responsive on what is happening around us. So Swades is an invitation and a challenge

to all young managers of India –“Can we change India by using our management concepts? “